Can't Speak
by btamamura
Summary: Choo-Choo wakes up one morning to find he has no voice. Written in memory of Marvin Kaplan, Chooch's original VA. Uploaded here since Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera series.


**Disclaimer:** _I do not own_ _ **Top Cat**_ _or any canon characters. They are the property of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera._

 **Notes:** _ **This was one of my more sporadic fic ideas. I found out first thing this morning that Marvin Kaplan, the man who voiced Choo-Choo, had passed away in his sleep on August 25, 2016.**_

 _ **Characters might be a little OOC, and this is my first attempt at writing for Officer Dibble.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy this!**_

 _ **(Linebreaks hate me, so I will use**_ _CC_ _ **.)**_

CC

Choo-Choo woke up bright and early (for him anyway) that morning. He opened his mouth and let out a yawn. He blinked when he realised that he didn't let out any sounds; he normally did some pretty loud ones. _Strange. Must-a been too big to make any._

He rose to his feet and stretched; throwing his arms into the air, arching his back, straightening his tail and flexing his paws. But, again, not a grunt was heard from him. _Okay, somethin' ain't right here._ He opened his mouth and tried to say something. Nothing came out. _What? Ah geez, I lost my voice! Now, what'll I do? I can't help TC if I'm like this!_

The sound of familiar footfalls and upbeat whistling filled his ears. He quickly realised that Officer Dibble was out on patrol. _Maybe Dibble knows what to do!_ He hurried in the officer's direction.

CC

Officer Charlie Dibble was in a fine mood that morning. He'd had a satisfactory breakfast and he knew Top Cat would be asleep for another few hours so, unless a crime was committed, he had nothing to worry about. He heard soft padding rapidly approaching him.

Choo-Choo silently panted when he finally caught up to the officer. But, his voice was gone, so how could he get his attention. He mentally let out a groan and started sprinting, racing until he was ahead of the officer.

"Huh? Oh, hey there, Choo-Choo. Stayin' outta trouble, I hope?"

He jumped up and down to express his alarm.

"What's-a matter? Cat got your tongue? If you'll pardon the expression."

He frowned, not entirely appreciating the joke. He opened his mouth and pointed to it.

"Look, I ain't got the money to feed ya some breakfast so I ain't gonna buy ya anythin'! You know my paycheck was cut!"

He slapped a paw to his forehead. If only he carried around a pencil and sheet of paper, he could write the problem.

"I can't stall any longer. Tell me what's got ya so worked up."

 _I can't!_ He tried closing his mouth and pointing to his throat instead.

"Ohh, now I get it! Ya lost your voice!" He blinked. "Lost your voice? That's rough, pal. I'm glad you'll be stayin' outta trouble, but still, that ain't much fun."

He shrugged as if to ask what he should do.

"Tell ya what, I'll put in a word with the doctor and see if he can give ya a check-up. Like the sound of that?"

He nodded emphatically.

"Alright then. Ya feelin' alright otherwise? Fever, sore throat, runny nose?"

He shook his head.

"None-a those, huh? Just no voice. Alright, on my break, I'll call up the doc for ya."

He beamed and nodded, wishing he could actually say _thank you_. He took the officer's hand and shook it, hoping that gesture got his message across.

"Alrighty, you're welcome. Well, I'd better get back on my beat."

He nodded again and waved as the officer resumed his patrol.

CC

The whole gang was meeting up at Top Cat's trashcan home. "Alright, time for roll-call! Spook?"

"Here, Pops!"

"Benny?"

"Present, TC!"

"Fancy-Fancy?"

"Here, TC!"

"Brain?"

"Here!"

"Choo-Choo?"

He raised his paw.

"Come on, I need ya to say it, Chooch."

He shook his head and pointed to his throat.

"Laryngitis? Oh, I see. Well, I'll accept the raised paw this time."

Brain looked to the pink-pelted feline. "Losin' your voice is rough, Chooch, hope ya feel better."

"Yeah, man, that's, like, major downsville," Spook added.

Choo-Choo shrugged. _Can't be helped, I suppose, but thanks, fellas._

Officer Dibble approached the clowder. "Stayin' outta trouble, I hope?"

"Oh, Dribble, don't we always?" Top Cat asked with feigned innocence.

"D'ya want an honest answer? Besides, I'm here for Choo-Choo."

"What? Whaddaya want Chooch for? He ain't done nothin'! You'll have to go through us first!"

"Calm down, I ain't here to arrest him. I'm here to take him to see the doc about that laryngitis of his."

"Oh. Well, we're all goin', we can't leave our pal alone at a time like this!"

Choo-Choo's glistening eyes were enough to show how touched he was at his leader's words.

Benny looked up at his best friend with admiration in his eyes. "Gosh, TC, you're all heart!"

Top Cat smiled. "Yeah, I know. So, Dib, whaddaya say?"

"Alright then, come on." Officer Dibble waited for Top Cat to climb out of the trashcan and led the cats to his patrol car.

CC

The rest of the gang had to stay in the waiting room, so Choo-Choo sat alone while the doctor asked him questions. He'd been provided with writing tools for any queries he couldn't answer with gestures.

"So, how did it start exactly? Do you know?"

Choo-Choo quickly scribed his response.

"I see, you just woke up like this. Have you been straining your voice lately?"

He thought about it. _I did do a lot of yellin' yesterday..._ He scribed his response, explaining in detail about how much screaming he had done the day before.

"I see. Well, when I examined your throat, it didn't look too raw. I believe this is simply a case of your larynx being overworked."

He wrote out a question.

"No, you're not actually ill." He noted relief on the cat's features. "Your voice might be gone for a day or two, but it will return. Just be sure to get lots of rest and don't overwork yourself."

He nodded and shook hands with the doctor.

"Take the pencil and a few more sheets of paper with you."

He wrote down a question.

"The fee? Don't worry about that, this is a favour for an old friend."

He smiled, shook hands with him again and rose to his feet.

CC

The gang immediately hurried to Choo-Choo as soon as he emerged, each firing off questions.

Choo-Choo was touched by their concern and smiled in a reassuring manner, holding up a paw to have them ease up on the questions. He needed a minute to write out the answers and did so.

"So, ya just overdid it yesterday is all? Well, at least ya ain't sick," Top Cat remarked, placing a paw on the silent feline's shoulder. "You'll be right, Chooch, let's get ya back to the alley and let ya rest."

"So, I take it you fellas will hold off on the scams today?" Dibble queried as he approached them.

" _Scams_? I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout, Dib!" He was feigning innocence again.

Choo-Choo silently chuckled as his leader and the patrol officer proceeded to engage in familiar banter. He looked to each of his friends, smiling in gratitude that he had them in his life. His voice might be gone for a little while, but he knew his friends would help see him through to his recovery.

CC

 **After notes:** _**I ended with him still being silent because of the reason behind this fic. I know he still has a voice thanks to Jason Harris Katz, but this is based on the classic** Top Cat **canon.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading. You don't have to leave a review, but if you do choose to say something, please don't flame. Constructive criticism is welcomed.**_


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